While I was at my daughter's house and my sister and BIL were visiting we were sitting around talking and I said "Mexicans" because that's what they are. I honestly didn't know that was offensive but seems it is. My daughter said they are called Hispanics and my sister from Colorado agreed. When did this happen? I've been saying and posting Mexican everywhere.
My wife is mostly Mexican-American. She sees no reason for a special acknowledgement, would be my guess. Hispanic is not an accurate term for the people most people are thinking about when they use the term "Hispanic," as they are more closely related to the indigenous people we think of as the American Indians, as they are the descendants of the Mayans, Aztecs, or Incas, if not specifically related to the American Indians on this side of the border. In other words, they are not Spanish. Mexico is now a Spanish-speaking country, for the most part, but only because it was taken over by the Spanish many years ago. Many of the indigenous people of Mexico prefer to acknowledge that their own heritage began before the Spanish came. There are plenty of white people living in Mexico, descendants of the Spanish, but the ones who are coming here are not the Spanish-Mexicans. I don' t think there is any one name that is equally acceptable to all of them. Some prefer Latinos. I prefer to get their name and call them that.
I know, so I don't get it. Most of the people I call Mexican are Mexican, they come from Mexico. I honestly thought it was okay. If I know someone who is from Cuba, I'll call them Cuban. My daughter said that I can't assume they're Mexican, so calling them Hispanic is what they prefer. I asked her what Latinos were but she didn't know....I hear that a lot around there but now don't know if that is PC either. My daughter has one friend who is half Mexican and another friend who is all Mexican and I've never heard her use the term Hispanic....maybe she was drunk, lol.
I usually call Mexicans Mexicans unless I know their name in which case I call them by their name. FYI the brothers who did such a god job cutting up the big tree were Mexicans but I knew their name.
Well yes if I know their name I'll call them by that. Gary, you're just a racist! But now that I think about it even the media says Mexicans. My daughter drank too much that night I think.
This is an anecdote of my husband when he had a stint in Stop N Go, a convenience store like 7-11 in the Los Angeles area. Since he was new, he was placed under the tutelage of a supervisor. While sweeping the grounds of the gas station, my husband casually asked the supervisor if he was Mexican. The guy got angry and reprimanded my husband that it was an impolite question. And the answer was no, the guy was an American although it was obvious from his looks that he is a Latino. The impression my husband got was that the word Mexican is somewhat denigrating.
When Donald Trump went to conference with the President of Mexico today, and they were discussing it on the news, they all referred to the people from Mexico as Mexicans. Even the Mexican president used that term; and it seems to me that it is a correct one, and no reason for a person from that country to be upset by being referred to by that term. However, we also have a lot of people from other Spanish-speaking countries, and since those people are not actually from Mexico, then they might object to being called Mexicans. This is probably where the term "Latino/Latina" comes in, since they are from a Latin-American country. Hispanic, although totally incorrect, as was pointed out by @Ken Anderson , seems to be the official term used to designate anyone from any of those countries of Central or South America. When I take surveys, and they ask whether a person is Hispanic or not, then they will break that down further for people who claim that designation.
It must be, I just never thought it was. I also don't know the difference between Latino and Hispanic. Here in central CA the chances are they are Mexicans. @Yvonne Smith , I'm going to tell my daughter that.
The reason that it might be considered insulting is that those who are citizens of the United States, some of them, at least, want to differentiate themselves from the Mexicans who are here either legally or illegally, as "Mexican" can be seen as describing a Mexican citizen, as opposed to one who is a citizen of the U.S.
Nearly everyone that I worked with in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas were born in Texas, and some had never been far beyond the border, so they would always differentiate themselves from the Mexican citizens who were living there.
It gets difficult....it's best if you know their name. I'd hate to think I'm offending someone when I honestly didn't mean to, I'm not like that. But a decent person would know my intent I would hope.